Mariko Sugita
杉田真理子
Japan
Residency period
10/15/24
12/15/24
Mariko Sugita is an urban designer and independent curator based in Kyoto, Japan, specializing in architecture and urban culture.
She obtained her master’s degree in 2016 from the 4CITIES Euromaster program in Urban Studies, which took her to four cities across four European countries—Brussels, Vienna, Copenhagen, and Madrid. After spending three years working as an urban consultant in Tokyo, she co-founded the urban experience design studio "for Cities" in 2021. Through this platform, she organizes place-making design projects across Japan and internationally, facilitating new programs in urbanism, architecture, and urban development, with a particular focus on international cultural collaborations.
In addition to her design and curatorial work, she founded the publishing label and research platform “Traveling Circus of Urbanism”, a space dedicated to urban storytelling and research conducted through travel. Over the past few years, she has also been actively engaged in revitalizing the Jodoji neighborhood in Kyoto, preserving and self-renovating abandoned historical buildings while hosting artists and designers for residencies, exhibitions, and collaborative workshops.
Since 2023, she has been operating "Bridge Studio", a multi-purpose art space housed in a former clinic built in 1934. The space serves as a hub for an international creative community, welcoming artists, designers, and practitioners from various fields.
Residency plan
As an urban designer, independent researcher, and curator with a background in urban design, her work often revolves around the concepts of cultural hybridity and mobility.
During her stay in Yilan, she was first inspired by the impact of the Japanese colonial-era forestry industry on the development of Luodong. She became particularly fascinated by the way massive trees were transported from the mountains to cities and ports, and ultimately to Japan. These transnational "diasporic objects" not only transformed architectural environments but also deeply influenced local communities.
Additionally, she explored the history of camphor, a material extracted from camphor trees, which once generated huge profits for the Japanese government in Taiwan. However, behind its seemingly simple white crystalline form lies a dark history: it triggered conflicts between the Japanese military and Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples, a history that remains largely unknown in Japan today.
She has been dedicated to collecting stories that span vast geographic distances and conducting field research and exhibitions using her original "Traveling Research Kit." This portable tool, designed to fit inside a suitcase, can be assembled in 15 minutes, allowing her to conduct research and present her findings anytime, anywhere.
